This disclosure relates to a computer and a hard drive assembly for use in the computer, and, more particularly, to a computer, having one or more light sources and a hard drive assembly for transmitting the light sources for providing visual indications of certain functions of the computer.
Almost all computers, or central processing units, incorporate light sources, such as liquid crystal displays (LEDs), to display information, such as power status, floppy drive status, and the like. However, space limitations make it very difficult to mount the light sources on the front panel of the computer chassis.
This problem is especially acute in connection with computers having multiple hard drives disposed in a stacked relationship in the computer housing. In connection with these computers, which are termed "servers", the light sources are used as drive power and fault indicators and are usually mounted either on the front surface of the hard drive carrier or on a separate printed wire assembly adjacent the hard drive. In both cases extra hardware is required to bring the indicators forward in the assembly.
However, in connection with servers that have multiple visual indicators, it is very difficult to utilize multiple wire assemblies and multiple light pipes in the available space. To further compound the problem, the hard drive carriers ideally should be optimized for both 1 inch and 1.6 inch hard drives, thus requiring the lightpipe to be optimized for each hard drive.
Although attempts have been made to mount a light source, such as an LED, on the back wall or panel of the chassis of the server and use cabling or a light pipe to transfer the light from the source to the front panel or to the hard drive carrier, this has been limited to a single light source and has not been achieved in connection with multiple sources.